UK gadget mountain worth £74 billion

Fewer breadmakers than previously thought

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Collectively, us gadget-crazy Britons now own some 400 million pieces of kit, which works out at about 16 gadgets per household. Mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, LCD TVs, sat-nav units, PVRs etc. are now commonplace in many modern homes.

Our gadgets are worth a staggering £74 billion, according to research by First Direct, who surveyed a representative sample of over 1000 adults from around the UK. So take the numbers with a pinch of salt.

The TV upgrade cycle

We spend more money on televisions than any other gadget (£29 billion in total) - a fact undoubtly buoyed by the current upgrade cycle from analogue to digital and from CRT to flat panel. £10 billion is spent on desktop and notebook computers.

Our favourite toys, according to the report, are obviously mobile phones (69.8 million estimated), followed by TVs (59.6 million) and DVD players/recorders (39.4 million).

The prominence of digital TV receivers shows that the digital switchover process is in full swing, although analogue radios are still hanging on in the face of a concerted DAB onslaught. The VCR numbers are an anomaly - we all still own them, but they're most likely gathering dust in the attic.

The full list of gadgetry is below:

Numbers of gadgets in UK households (numbers in the UK @ average price = cash value in the UK):